The Magisterial Reformer, John Calvin, once said to the Queen of Navarre: "A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent." (April 28, 1545). This blog attempts to present news, commentary, and opinion from an Evangelical and Baptist perspective.

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Los Angeles Times Picks Up Story of PSW Board Vote: 300 Congregations "Ready to Bolt"

"Durable Data's" Dr. Glenn Layne breaks PSW decision to L.A. Times for second time, despite refusal by regional officials to answer the reporter's calls. One of the nation's leading newspapers thus puts the story in play once again. It should be picked up by the national media over the weekend. (Photograph of Dr. Dale V. Salico, Executive Minister, ABCPSW) Region's American Baptists Seek Vote on Break With ChurchConservative leaders of 300 congregations in the Southwest are ready to bolt over homosexuality.

By Larry B. Stammer, Times Staff WriterIn a new move toward a break with their national denomination over homosexuality, conservative leaders of 300 American Baptist congregations in Southern California and elsewhere in the Pacific Southwest called Friday for an advisory vote by local churches next May on whether to leave American Baptist Churches USA.The regional board said it was calling for a vote because it wanted the "guidance and input" of local congregations. Regardless of the vote's outcome, the board has the authority on its own to pull out of the 1.5-million member national denomination.After two days of closed-door meetings, the regional board issued an unambiguous statement Friday that it wanted to withdraw."The American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest Board of Directors recommends that the region withdraw from the Covenant of Relationships of the American Baptist Churches USA," said a statement posted on the region's website. A telephone call and an e-mail seeking comment from the denomination were not answered.American Baptist Churches USA is separate from and generally more liberal than the better known Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, which claims 16 million members. In September, regional officials served notice that "deep differences of theological convictions and values" were propelling them toward a possible break because the national church, they said, was not living up to its own 1992 statement that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching."For example, some conservative officials are upset that congregations around the country have not been held accountable for blessing same-sex unions. Other congregations say the issue does not touch on their core beliefs and should not divide the church.Under Baptist governance, however, the 1992 resolution was not binding on local congregations or regions. The national denomination has acknowledged "deep divisions" among American Baptists.In a move to head off schism, the General Board of American Baptist Churches USA, meeting last month in Green Lake, Wis., approved another statement against homosexuality and same-sex marriage on a 59-45 vote. The statement was inserted into a document titled, "We Are American Baptists." It described American Baptists as those "who submit to the teaching of Scripture that God's design for sexual intimacy places it within the context of marriage between one man and one woman, and acknowledge that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with biblical teaching."However, the action was not sufficient, according to the Rev. Glenn Layne, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Temple City, who favors secession. "A lot of people really believe it wasn't adopted out of conviction, but out of fear of what we may do," he said.The decision by the regional board to call for a vote by congregations also came despite unity appeals by the executive ministers of the American Baptist's Rocky Mountains and Maine regions.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-baptists10dec10,1,3321719.story?coll=la-headlines-california

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About Me

I am the President/CEO of a Christian retirement home ministry affiliated with the Transformation Ministries and the ABC. My first 22 years of ministry (and first three degrees) were in pastoral ministry. My next three academic programs and past twelve years have been devoted to leadership and management. We are a community of 350 residents and 180 employees. My wife is an Associate Pastor at a Baptist church affiliated with Transformation Ministries in CA. One of our sons is a pastor and adjunct instructor at Moody Bible Institute. Another son, an attorney, holds a MBA and JD. A daughter finished seminary and served with TEAM as a missionary in Kandern, Germany before teaching Bible in a Ft. Wayne Christian school. Another married son is lives in Joplin, MO. And, our youngest daughter is a freshman at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids.